Beautiful Nightmare
by brandnewdaysky
Summary: A shooting at McKinley threatens the life of one of Glee club's own. Brittana


**Hey there! Just a little one shot that was floating in my mind. The whole "going out with a bang" rumor sparked a small fire in me to write this. And I promise a Shadows of the Heart update is around the corner! Also feel free to embrace the brittana fandom with me on tumblr -md09. **

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><p>The hallways bustled with students, all rushing by to get to their destinations. Brittany stood by her locker and watched the crowds go by, eyes scanning the sea of faces in hopes of finding Santana. She bit her lip, and shuffled nervously on her feet. She had big news to tell Santana. A blonde gracefully walked up to Brittany's side and quickly popped open the locker next to her.<p>

"Hi Quinn!" Brittany greeted. "Have you seen San this morning yet?" Brittany's eyes focused back on the student body.

Quinn shook her head. "Not yet, but it's still early. She'll be here, B. Why are you so anxious? You look nervous."

Before Brittany could answer, a loud blast echoed down the hall, two more following.

The hallway seemed frozen for a millisecond, than panic broke loose. Screams reverberated as students ran and pushed by each other, away from the blast's source, a gun. Quinn choked back a scream, and immediately pushed Brittany into the storage room that neighbored their lockers. She slammed the door shut, promptly locking it.

"Quinn! What's going on?" Brittany asked, her voice laced with fear.

Quinn pushed her into the corner away from the door. "Someone has a gun! Someone brought a gun to school!" Quinn cried, as if not believing what she just said.

Brittany's eyes widened. "Quinn! Santana could be out there! I need to find her!" She began to go towards the door, but Quinn held her back. She looked at Brittany with steely eyes.

"Brittany. Someone has a gun out there. A gun. I'm not letting you out there. I'm sure Santana is fine!" Quinn stated.

Brittany just shook her head. "No, you don't know that!" She pushed harder, but Quinn didn't budge.

"Brit! Calm down! Let's send her a text instead, okay?"

Brittany let her arms drop to her sides, and stopped struggling. Nodding numbly, she pulled out her phone and tapped out a quick message. Quinn was in a similar position, furiously typing on her phone.

"I'm texting the glee club, just to make sure we are all accounted for." Quinn said.

The girls sat in silence, both awaiting the familiar chime from their phones. Brittany stared at the screen, praying her message icon would light up. Her heart began to race as the silence went on. What if Santana was hurt? She felt tears prick the corners of her eyes, and her blood run cold. Quinn seeing Brittany in this state, put an arm around her shoulder, in an attempt to comfort the girl.

After a few minutes of silence, Quinn's phone lit up. She scrolled through her messages and frowned slightly. Brittany picked up on this.

"What? What's wrong?" Brittany asked.

Quinn put her phone down. "Um, Rachel says almost everyone is accounted for, and herself, Finn, Puck, and Lauren are in the choir room."

"What about Santana?" Brittany whispered.

Quinn grimaced. "She's, uh, the only one who hasn't answered yet."

Brittany shot up from her sitting position, but Quinn grabbed her arm, holding her back.

"What the hell, Brittany? You're not going out there!" Quinn stated with authority.

Brittany roughly yanked her arm out of the blonde's grasp. "Yes I am! She could be hurt, Quinn! And I can guarantee if the roles were reversed, she would do the same for me. She's always my knight in shining armor. It's my turn." Her voice softened. "I need to find her."

Quinn watched as a stray tear slipped down Brittany's cheek. She bit her lip, deep in thought. She found herself nodding.

"Ok." She rasped out. "But I'm coming with you. You're not going alone."

"Thank you Quinn." Brittany hugged her tightly.

"The hallway has been silent for a while now." Quinn noted.

Brittany slowly opened the door, and peeked down the deserted hallway. "It's empty." They stepped into the hallway quietly, and Brittany began walking down the hall. "Santana uses the south entrance. If she's here, it would be this way."

Alert, the girls quickly but quietly made their way down the hall. Books and papers were strewn about, abandoned. Their eyes widened when they saw bullet shells mixed in with the anonymous school supplies on the ground. They rounded the corner, and Quinn brought her hand over her mouth, muffling the horrified scream. Brittany glanced ahead, and mimicked Quinn.

A Cheerio was lying face up in the middle of the hall, a crimson halo pooling around her body.

"Oh God." Quinn whispered. Shakily, she knelt next to the girl, feeling for a pulse.

"She- she's dead." Quinn whispered in horror. Brittany watched with tears running down her face, and hastily wiped them away. Quinn stood up while holding her necklace, sending out a silent prayer.

Brittany pulled at the blonde. "Come on, Q. We need to go. There's nothing we can do."

They started walking down in silence, both keeping aware of their surroundings. They were almost at the entrance, when Brittany halted. Pointing to the ground, she motioned to Quinn a few blood stains on the ground, trailing toward the stairs.

"Quinn, someone is hurt!" Brittany stated with fear.

They followed the steady trail of blood to the staircase, and saw it wrapped around to the small space behind the stairs, a place usually used by couples for a private make out session. A muffled gasp caught their attention. Quickly they ran behind the stairs, horrified by the sight.

"Santana!" Brittany cried out, rushing to the Latina. She was sitting slumped against the wall eyes closed, a hand pressed into her left shoulder. Blood was oozing over her fingers, dripping onto the floor. Her purple jacket was stained black by the sticky fluid.

"Oh my God!" Quinn rushed next to the girls.

Santana opened her eyes, focusing on Brittany. "Britt.."

"Shit! San, it's gonna be ok, alright? You're gonna be fine!" Brittany rushed. She kissed Santana's forehead, and took a look at her injury. "You're bleeding a lot S."

Santana merely nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's what happens when you get shot." She tried to smile, but it came out as a pained grimace. Brittany only frowned.

Quinn pulled off her pale yellow cardigan, and balled it up. "We need to stop the bleeding. You're losing too much blood." She pressed the fabric into her shoulder.

Santana bit her sleeve muffling her scream. "Shit Fabray! That fucking hurts!"

"I know, I'm sorry! But we need to stop the bleeding!"

Santana squeezed her eyes shut, trying to ignore the hot pain erupting from her shoulder. It radiated around her body, suffocating her. "Shit!"

Brittany felt tears running down her face. "San.." She murmured.

Seeing the blonde in distress, Santana ran her clean hand along her jawline. "Hey, I'm going to be fine, it's just a scratch."

"No, Santana, it's not! We need to get you out of here. Can you walk?" Brittany asked in a rush.

Santana nodded, and the two girls helped her to her feet. She swayed a bit, but the two girls helped balance her.

"Where do we go?" Santana mumbled. "The doors are locked. That's what they did before they started firing."

"Who? Who is shooting?" Quinn asked.

Santana took in a ragged breath. "Jewfro. And Karofsy. It's both of them, and some other guy who I don't know."

Before they could take a step further, another gunshot rang out. Quinn pushed them back under the stairs, against the wall.

"Shit!" Quinn cried out. "Britt, hold this against her." She motioned to the bloody sweater. She pulled out her cell phone and sent a text to Rachel, explaining the situation.

Brittany sat Santana back down against the wall, and noticed the once yellow cardigan was almost soaked through. "San, you're bleeding too much…"

Santana lazily looked down at her shoulder, noting the blood. She felt dizzy, and her vision was beginning to blur. She let out a quiet sigh. Yeah, she was losing a lot of blood, and it sure felt like it. She shut her eyes, feeling a wave of fatigue wash over her.

"No! San! Stay awake! I've seen One Tree Hill, you're not supposed to fall asleep!" Brittany cried. She nudged at the Latina, effectively keeping her alert.

"Guys, Rachel says they managed to take the window panes out, and can escape. We need to go." Quinn stated. She looked worriedly at Santana, who seemed to be going in and out of consciousness.

"San, can you still walk?" Quinn asked with hope.

Santana struggled to move, but the effort was futile. "..no… Quinn..c-cant.." She murmured.

Brittany whimpered, and pressed harder against the injury. The blood was pooling around them at a terrifying rate.

"Quinn. Go get help. I'll stay with Santana." Brittany said tearfully.

Quinn's jaw slackened at the state of her friend. "Y-yeah. I'll be right back. Okay? Santana, stay strong, hang in there. Please." She turned out of the stairwell out of sight.

Brittany shakily breathed out, and let the saturated cardigan fall to the ground with a sickening slap. She peeled off her own long sleeve leaving her in a tank top. Balling this as well, she held it against Santana's injury.

"San, San, you have to stay awake." Brittany cried.

Santana lolled her head, and cracked her eyes open, staring lazily at Brittany.

"I'm awake Brit.." She slurred. At this point, she was beginning to feel disconnected from her body.

Eyes filled with fear, Brittany leaned down so she was eye level with her. "Hey, focus on me, okay? Focus on my voice."

"yeah, okay…" Santana muttered.

"Santana, I was waiting for you today at our lockers." Brittany began, voice choked up. "I have something important to tell you. I need you to stay with me so I can tell you."

"And what's t-that Britt.." Santana slurred.

"I broke up with Artie, San. I felt so mixed up recently, but I know what I want. And I'm sorry for what happened at our lockers a few days ago. But it's you. I love you." Tears streamed down her face as she pushed back locks of dark hair out of Santana's eyes. "And I need you to be okay, because I will die without you. Santana, I am yours. Proudly so." Brittany whispered the last few lines. "Please say you love me back still. Please." Brittany asked, voice thick with tears.

Santana 's hooded eyes stared at Brittany. How long has she waited for Brittany to say those words. How long has she yearned to be this close to Brittany again. "Brit..I.." She tried to formulate a sentence. She wanted to shout as loud as she could her answer. But her tongue felt heavy, and her brain was muddled. As quickly as she gripped Brittany's hand, it loosened. "B-Brit.."

Brittany looked at Santana with alarm. "San? Santana!" She shook the brunette lightly, but there was no response. "Santana!" She screamed.

What happened in the next few minutes will always be a blur to her.

_Footsteps sounded behind her, people in uniform rushing to her side._

_A man pulling her away from Santana, as two others picked up the brunette._

_Herself shouting Santana's name, the echo loud enough to be heard down the hall._

_Being carried outside towards a police line, and Santana lifted into an awaiting ambulance, sirens screaming as it pulled out of the parking lot._

Quinn hugged her tightly, but Brittany was numb. "Hospital," was all she was able to manage.

Santana felt pain. Not white hot pain, but pain nonetheless. She breathed in deeply, and wrinkled her nose at the sensation of something resting across her face. A faint steady beep was heard, and she felt herself on something soft. Her right hand had weight in it. Feeling her mind become more intact, she recognized the sensation as a hand.

Taking a deep breath, she cracked her eyes open, allowing the white light flood her vision. Blinking slowly, her vision cleared, and was able to look around the room. A hospital, that was for sure. But for what? She located the source of her pain, it being heavily bandaged. An IV in her wrist also pinched uncomfortably. Shifting her head to her right, she saw Brittany holding her hand, facedown over them, as if in prayer.

"Brit.." She croaked. Her throat was dry, feeling as if she swallowed a pack of cotton balls.

Brittany jerked up, eyes wide. "San? Santana!" Brittany threw her arms gently around the brunette, and began to shake with silent sobs. She kissed her forehead, and smiled through her tears. "Oh thank God. Thank God. You're awake."

"Britt, what happened?" Santana asked.

Brittany pulled her chair closer, lessening the distance between the two. "San, you were shot. Don't you remember?"

Santana only furrowed her brows and shook her head.

Brittany sniffled and continued. "Um, the police officers said a few students held up the school. They were all arrested. They have no direct reasoning for doing this. They started to shoot down the hall. You we're hit. Another girl was killed. Santana, you almost _died._ "

Images of the morning rushed through her mind, and Santana almost felt paralyzed by the intensity of the memories. "Britt...I – I remember being in the staircase. That's all." Santana rasped out.

Brittany sighed shakily. "You passed out. Right after EMTs found us, they took you here. God, Santana, you were in surgery for five hours, and it's been two days since then. You lost a lot of blood. Doctors weren't sure you were going to wake up." Brittany's voice cracked at the end, and a new wave of tears rushed down her face.

"Brit, I'm here now. I'm okay." Santana soothed. She tried to sit up, but Brittany gently pushed her down.

"Stay where you are. You have like, a ton of stitches. You need to stay still." Brittany murmured.

Santana closed her eyes, letting the memories fly by her eyes. Karofsky shooting. The stabbing pain. The staircase. Brittany and Quinn. Brittany's speech. Wait. Brittany's speech!

Her eyes flew open and she locked her eyes on Brittany's sky blue ones. "Yes."

Brittany looked at her confused. "What?"

"Yes. Brittany. You asked if I still love you. Yes." Santana said determined.

Brittany smiled, and let out a choked laugh. She held Santana's face gently and kissed her deeply, tasting of tears and salt. Santana ran her hand gently along Brittany's arm where she could reach, smiling into the kiss.

Pulling away for air, Brittany pressed her forehead against Santana's. "Don't you ever do that again. You cannot believe how much you scared me. Never. Again." Brittany murmured.

"Never. You're mine now. I could never leave you. You're my hero. I love you." Santana whispered.

Brittany pulled Santana in for another kiss.

"I'd do it over again, for you. I love you too, Santana. Proudly so." Santana shifted over, allowing Brittany to lay down with her. Brittany wrapped an arm gently around Santana's waist and nuzzled into her neck. Santana sighed with content, and let herself drift into a restful sleep.

Quinn watched from the doorway, a smiled building on her lips. She decided she would wait a few more minutes to tell the doctor about Santana. She wanted to give the new happy couple a few more minutes. She stepped away from the door with a small smile, wiping a stray tear from her face. She walked down the hall to the waiting room, where friends and family were patiently waiting. In this nightmare, a beautiful love blossomed, washing away the darkness. Everything would be okay.

**Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. All comments are welcomed.**


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